John Shjarback, Scott Decker, Jeff J. Rojek and Rod K. Brunson
Increasing minority representation in law enforcement has long been viewed as a primary means to improve police-citizen relations. The recommendation to diversify police…
Abstract
Purpose
Increasing minority representation in law enforcement has long been viewed as a primary means to improve police-citizen relations. The recommendation to diversify police departments was endorsed by the Kerner Commission and, most recently, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. While these recommendations make intuitive sense, little scholarly attention has examined whether greater levels of minority representation translate into positive police-community relations. The purpose of this paper is to use the representative bureaucracy and minority threat frameworks to assess the impact of the racial/ethnic composition of both police departments and municipalities on disparities in traffic stops.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses are tested using a sample of more than 150 local police agencies from Illinois and Missouri.
Findings
Higher levels of departmental representativeness are not associated with fewer racial/ethnic disparities in stops. Instead, the racial/ethnic composition of municipalities is more predictive of racial patterns of traffic stops.
Originality/value
This study provides one of the few investigations of representative bureaucracy in law enforcement using individual departments as the unit of analysis. It examines Hispanic as well as black disparities in traffic stops, employing a more representative sample of different size agencies.
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Michael R. Smith, Jeff J. Rojek, Matthew Petrocelli and Brian Withrow
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a contemporary review of the research on racial disparities in police decision making.
Design/methodology/approach
State of the art literature review.
Findings
The findings are mixed on racial disparities in the primary policing domains of stops, arrests, use of force, and neighborhood deployment. While minorities are often overrepresented among those subjected to police enforcement actions, these findings vary considerably. Almost all of the current studies that have reported racial disparities in the exercise of police authority lack the methodological rigor or statistical precision to draw cause and effect inferences.
Research limitations/implications
Efforts underway to document the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen complaints and force used by police could be extended to examine the impact of cameras on racial disparities in other enforcement-related outcomes such as arrests, stops and frisks, or searches. In addition, evaluating the effects of police training, such as anti-bias training or training on police legitimacy, on reducing racial disparities in police enforcement outcomes is another promising line of research inquiry.
Originality/value
This paper provides a concise review of the current state of the literature on a topic that is dominating the national conversation currently underway about the role of the police in American society.
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J. Andrew Hansen, Jeff Rojek, Scott E. Wolfe and Geoffrey P. Alpert
Little is known regarding the impact of organizational policies and practices on police officers’ driving behaviors. To address an important gap in the empirical literature, this…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known regarding the impact of organizational policies and practices on police officers’ driving behaviors. To address an important gap in the empirical literature, this study examined how perceived likelihood of discipline for violations of agency driving policies impacted officer-involved vehicle collisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys were distributed to patrol officers and their supervisors in eight California law enforcement agencies. The surveys elicited information regarding the perceived likelihood of discipline for violations of agency driving policies regarding cell phone use, text messaging, seatbelt use, speeding, and vehicle operations during emergency and pursuit situations.
Findings
The findings demonstrated a significant impact of perceived likelihood of enforcement for some but not all agency driving policies on officer-involved vehicle collisions.
Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to self-reported data from patrol officers and their supervisors in eight California agencies.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that agencies may reduce officer injuries and other costs by increasing supervision and enforcement of agency driving policies.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the extant body of literature on officer-involved vehicle collisions by considering the impact of agency policy and supervision on officer behavior.
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Scott E. Wolfe, Jeff Rojek, Geoff Alpert, Hope M. Tiesman and Stephen M. James
The purpose of this paper is to examine the situational and individual officer characteristics of officer-involved vehicle collisions that result in fatality, injury, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the situational and individual officer characteristics of officer-involved vehicle collisions that result in fatality, injury, and non-injury outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on 35,840 vehicle collisions involving law enforcement officers in California occurring between January 2000 and December 2009 are examined. A descriptive analysis of collision characteristics is presented.
Findings
There were 39 officers killed by collisions over this study period and 7,684 officers who received some type injury. Incidents involving officers on motorcycles represented 39 percent of officer fatalities and 39 percent of severe injuries. In the case of fatalities, 33 percent of officers were reported as wearing seatbelts, 38 percent were not wearing a seatbelt, and seatbelt use was not stated in 29 percent of car fatalities.
Research limitations/implications
The findings only represent one state and the analysis is based on an estimated 86 percent of collisions that occurred during the study period due to missing data. Nonetheless, the results are based on a robust sample and address key limitations in the existing literature.
Practical implications
During the study period in California the estimated financial impact of collisions reached into the hundreds of millions of dollars when considering related fatality, injury, and vehicle damage costs combined. These impacts highlight the need for the law enforcement community to give greater attention to this issue.
Originality/value
At the time of this writing there was no published independent research that compares the situational and officer characteristics across fatality, injury, and non-injury outcomes in these events. The findings reported here will help inform emerging interest in this issue within the law enforcement, academic, and policy-making communities.
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Margaret M. Chrusciel, Scott Wolfe, J. Andrew Hansen, Jeff J Rojek and Robert Kaminski
The purpose of this paper is to assess the perspectives of law enforcement executives and public school principals regarding school resource officers (SROs), armed teachers, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the perspectives of law enforcement executives and public school principals regarding school resource officers (SROs), armed teachers, and armed school administrators in order to inform the policy discussion surrounding school safety issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes data collected from two surveys that were sent to law enforcement executives and public school principals in South Carolina. Respondents were asked about their experience with SROs and their perspectives on these officers’ ability to maintain school safety. Both groups of respondents were also asked about their attitudes regarding arming school employees.
Findings
There is a large amount of support for SROs from both law enforcement executives and principals. However, in general, both groups of respondents do not believe armed administrators or armed teachers to be an effective school safety strategy.
Originality/value
SROs have been the primary strategy adopted by schools to maintain safety, but in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, public outcry and political debate has spawned a number of proposed alternatives. Among these alternative security measures has been the idea of arming school teachers and/or administrators. However, there appears to have been little effort to empirically consider the perspectives of those directly impacted by school safety policy decisions. In particular, a gap in the literature remains regarding the perceptions of police executives and school principals concerning school safety policies and how the attitudes of these key actors compare. Thus, the current study addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives of key school safety stakeholders.
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Grace Henry and Scott E. Wolfe
The current study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to whether officers value procedurally just interaction techniques and contribute to the limited research…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to whether officers value procedurally just interaction techniques and contribute to the limited research examining how the effects of warrior and guardian mentalities may vary based on individual officer characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data collected from patrol officers in two geographically different and ethnically diverse United States police departments allowed for an examination of the generality of warrior and guardian orientations on perceptions of procedural justice across gender, race and/or ethnicity, military service, education, and experience.
Findings
There was a largely invariant effect of the mentalities on officer attitudes toward procedural justice, except for officers of color. In this sample, the guardian effect on prioritizing procedural justice was stronger for officers of color than for White officers.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on our theoretical understanding of the warrior/guardian framework and offers practical implications for police leaders and policymakers in their effort to improve police-community relations.